Seabrook police move ahead after alleged brutality

Chief promises thorough review of department policies

SEABROOK — Now that Seabrook has fired or disciplined four officers whom investigators claim committed wrongdoing in connection with an alleged police brutality incident, Chief Lee Bitomske says the focus needs to turn toward efforts to regain the belief and trust the department has lost.

SEABROOK — Now that Seabrook has fired or disciplined four officers whom investigators claim committed wrongdoing in connection with an alleged police brutality incident, Chief Lee Bitomske says the focus needs to turn toward efforts to regain the belief and trust the department has lost.

Bitomske admitted doing so may be challenging, although he said the department's continued professionalism and dedication to the community will help, as will a full and thorough review of the Police Department's policies, procedures and training regimens.

"I can't change people's minds," Bitomske said of a now-viral police station surveillance video that depicts officers smiling after one officer slams a suspect head-first into a wall and another pepper sprays the suspect while he is on the floor. "We're a family and it's tough, but we move ahead."

When the video first came to light on Jan. 6, which happened after the alleged victim, then-19-year-old Seabrook resident Michael Bergeron Jr., posted it on YouTube, Bitomske said it was a "surprise and shock to a lot of people," including himself and Deputy Police Chief Mike Gallagher.

Bitomske said the issue has divided various parts of the community and has shattered some locals' respect for the department. It didn't stop the rest of the department's personnel from stepping "up to the plate," Bitomske said, to cover missed shifts and continue the department's strong presence in the community, though. This is why he said he is convinced the answer to restoring the public's faith lies in making tangible improvements to what he called an already professional department.

"In this job, no matter how much training you have, situations do happen — good or bad," Bitomske said. "We just take from this what we can to learn and to train the officers. And again, that evening it could've been emotions or whatever on the officers' part, but we can continue giving (our) officers as much training as we can in the hopes that something like this doesn't happen and rewrite policies to make sure something like this doesn't happen."

Selectman Aboul Khan said the town will "do whatever is necessary to bring (back) that kind of confidence" in the department. He feels the training and policy overhauls are the best place to start, in addition to any other changes above and beyond the firing of officers Mark Richardson and Adam Laurent, the two-day suspension of officer Keith Dietenhofer, and the demotion of Lt. John Wasson to patrolman.

"This is step one, and in the coming weeks and months the chief of police is going to bring a lot of recommendations about how we can improve so this kind of thing doesn't happen in Seabrook ever again," Khan said.

Town Manager Bill Manzi said he believes the department is well-regarded by Seabrook residents and the majority of them recognize the alleged Nov. 11, 2009, assault and the negative events that followed aren't representative of Seabrook's day-to-day operations.

Seabrook, Manzi said, is a "smaller community where folks know each other," and he believes making the changes within the department while encouraging the officers to continue their "first-rate services" will go a long way in the public's eye as community members see the officers in action.

"I think our citizens interact with our officers daily," Manzi said, "and you build confidence in the department by doing the things that we do today and doing them each and every day and showing the citizens that our Police Department is a department that is comprised of law enforcement professionals that know how to interact with the public, and do so successfully 99 percent of the time."

While the improvements are already under way, Bitomske said they will "take some time." The efforts are a top priority, as is protecting the community in a way that allows Seabrook officers to "continue" to hold their "heads up high," according to Bitomske.